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VIRTUE_SIGNALLING


                                             March 7, 2020

"Virtue signalling" is the latest                      CORRECT
in a series of similar phrases,
beginning with (as far as I know)     And "politically correct" was
"politically correct".                *originally* an ironic remark made
                                      by people on the left, as I think
When you accuse someone of            many of these phrases are.
"virtue signalling"-- presuming
you're not attacking from the           They get picked up on by the right, and
right-- You're not so much              very quickly become contaiminated by the
accusing someone of being *wrong*       association, hence the need for newer
as accusing them of being               ones like "virtue signalling".
doctrinaire-- the sense is that
someone has said something that's           These days "Oh, you're just being
kind of obvious and unhelpful and           *politically correct*" most often
now they're expecting to be                 just means "How dare you call
rewarded with approving applause.           me racist just because I am."

   I think you can make an
   analogy to the attitude of           It just occurred to me to
   Christians to being                  *check* my impression that the
   excessively "out" about their        phrase "virtue signalling" also
   Christianity: Real Christians        came from the left-- that seems
   are supposed to attend to            to be wrong.
   their faith quietly, and the
   "funadmentalists" that are           James Bartholomew (right of
   always going on about it are,        center, I think) popularized (and
   I think, widely regarded as          likes to claim he invented) the
   being in very poor taste by          current usage of the phrase, in a
   most Christians -- though it         2015 piece.
   would similarly be in poor
   taste to call them on this,          https://beta.spectator.co.uk/article/easy-virtue
   which is how we end up with
   the fundies as being the             For what it's worth Bartholomew
   public face of Christianity.         claims he didn't intend it solely
                                        as an attack on the left:

                                           "Virtue signalling crosses
                                           the political divide."

                                        But most of his examples are
                                        indeed criticisms of the left:
There's a standard objection
to the stridently committed:               "‘I hate 4x4s!’ you declare. This is
"you're going to turn people               an assertion that, unlike others,
off talking like this".                    you care about the environment.

I've been know to use that                 "It’s noticeable how often virtue
one sometimes myself--                     signalling consists of saying you
                                           hate things. It is camouflage. The
    EXPLAINING_FEMINISM                    emphasis on hate distracts from the
                                           fact you are really saying how good
But it's hard for me to be                 you are. If you were frank and
too strident about it--                    said, ‘I care about the environment
because I know it's what                   more than most people do’ [...]
everyone says about any                    your vanity and self-aggrandisement
sort of "activist":                        would be obvious [...] "

Of course activists are annoying,
the question is are they too
annoying or just annoying enough?


                      This above was originally
                      written as a post to a Crooked        [link]
                      Timber discussion initiated by
 The point Quiggin    John Quiggin, who declined to
 was making though    use my comment-- no doubt as an
 is that the          oversight.
 right's analog
 of "virtue               Really, I think it's
 signalling"              because I'm pro-nuclear
 is more like             power. Quiggin is Not      Admittedly, Quiggin is not
 "vice signalling".       Amused by hearing from     as inanely anti-nuclear
 A MAGA hat isn't         people like me.  And       as some are...
 an assertion of          I have a feeling I'm       
 anything but a           permanently banned at            His claim is more
 desire to                this point.                      like "new nukes
 "trigger the                                              would be irrelevant
 libs"-- it's more                                         now".  And if you
 properly "vice                                            disagree well double
 signalling".                                              derp on you.
                          
 Racist and proud                                          NUCLEAR_DERANGEMENT
 but not really,          
 we just like                
 offending the
 anti-racists.                  James Hansen has
                                mentioned he took a
 SusanC @ 40:                   funding hit after        In his last
                                speaking up in favor     appearance on
 "... 'vice signalling':        of nuclear power--       "Democracy Now",
 its ostentatiously             suddenly the             he wouldn't say
 violating the values of        donations dried up.      the "N" word.
 a community you don’t
 belong to, in order to                                  Silencing
 demonstrate that you                                    *James Hansen*
 don’t belong to it."                                    is a pretty
                                                         good trick.

                                                            Hansen did slip
                                                            in his opinion
                                                            that we really
                                                            need some form
                           Quiggin has commented that       of carbon tax...
                           it is now *too late* for
                           carbon pricing, he claims it
                           would act too slowly-- How he
                           figures that, I know not.


                                              The guys at reddit's
                                              /r/nuclear have a lot of
                                              stories about getting banned
                                              from /r/energy, where the
                                              mods are ruled by some
                                              rather smug renewables
                                              enthusiasts.

                                                  (Why *those* guys don't
                                                  have to worry about
                                                  turning people off
                                                  with overreach I'll
                                                  never understand.)




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